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New Day Saturday

Civil Rights Legend Rep. John Lewis Dies At 80; New Forecast Projects More Than 157,000 COVID-19 Deaths By August 8; Mary Trump: My Book Is Not About A "Vendetta Or Revenge"; Why Face Masks Are Crucial In Fight Against Coronavirus; Masked, Camouflaged Federal Authorities Arrest Portland Protesters. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 18, 2020 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: We'll talk more about his life and contributions throughout the show next hour starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman John Lewis, giant in the history of the civil rights movement, has died at the age of 80.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (R-GA): We do not want our freedoms gradually, but we want to be free now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He always believed in the power of love and not hate, just like a sea will grow and grow and grow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He didn't care about himself. He didn't care about politics. He didn't care about fame or fortune. He cared about making a difference. And so, he lived a purpose-driven life.

LEWIS: We must never ever give up. We must be brave, bold, and courageous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: His contribution changed this country. He marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr. He rose to Congress and spent his, his last days on earth still fighting for the same rights. He was beaten and jailed fighting for decades ago. This morning, we are honoring the life of Congressman John Lewis. Good morning and thank you for being with us. I'm Victor Blackwell.

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks for joining us the Saturday. I'm Abby Phillip in for Christi Paul. Congressman Lewis lost his battle with pancreatic cancer last night. And today, the world is remembering the Titan that he was. Here is CNN's Martin Savidge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Throughout his life, John Lewis stood for people's rights. Born on an Alabama cotton farm into a segregated America, he's not only lived to see an African American elected president, he would be a major part of making it happen.

LEWIS: Tonight, tonight, we gather here (INAUDIBLE) in Denver, because we still have a dream, we still have a dream.

SAVIDGE: Lewis growing up was angered by the unfairness of the Jim Crow (INAUDIBLE). He credited Martin Luther King Jr, for inspiring him to join the civil rights movement. And eventually Lewis would become one of its most prominent leaders. As a student, he organized sittings and lunch counters.

In the early 60s, he was a freedom writer, challenging segregation at interstate bus terminals across the south. The embodiment of non- violence, he frequently suffered beatings by angry mobs. Lewis, 23- years-old at the time, was the youngest speaker at the 1963 march on Washington.

LEWIS: We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now.

SAVIDGE: Then, two years later, led a march for voting rights in Selma.

On the Edmund Pettus Bridge here, the other marches were met by heavily armed state and local police. They were set upon beaten, Lewis suffering of fractured skull, it would be forever remembered as Bloody Sunday.

The images of brutality shocked the nation. Galvanizing support for the Voting Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson. Lewis never lost his young activist spirit, taking it from protests to politics. Standing up for what he believed was right, Lewis was arrested more than 40 times by police, according to his congressional office.

LEWIS: I'm on my way, and we're going to win this race.

SAVIDGE: He was elected to City Council in Atlanta, then the Congress in Washington representing Georgia's Fifth District. Fighting against poverty and for health care while working to help younger generations by improving education. He reached out to young people in other ways, co-writing a series of graphic novels about the civil rights movement, winning him a National Book Award.

In a life of so many moments and great achievements, it was the achievement of another in 2008 is perhaps meant the most, the election of President Barack Obama.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states, we are and always will be the United States of America.

SAVIDGE: A dream, Lewis admits was to impossible to consider decades before even as he fought to forge its foundation.

LEWIS: This is a unbelievable period in our history. Wonderful Kane Jr. will be very pleased to see what is happening in America. This is a long way from the marginal Washington. It was the great distant from marching across the bridge in Selma in 1965 for the right to vote.

SAVIDGE: In 2011, after more than 50 years of the frontlines of civil rights, Lewis received the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, placed around his neck by America's first black president.

[07:05:01]

Lewis wasn't contented just making history. He was also dedicated to preserving it, consider the impetus of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Americans History and Culture, and he never stopped stirring up good trouble, as he likes to call it: boycotting the inaugurations, George W. Bush at the contested 2000 election, and vocally opposing Donald Trump in 2017 citing suspicions of Russian election meddling, and a protest against President Trump's immigration policy.

The congressman, but then an elder statesman of the Democratic Party, riled up the crowd with words he had lived by as an activist, as a lawmaker, as a leader.

LEWIS: We must never ever give up. We must be brave, bold, and courageous.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIP: The daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., Bernice King, says John Lewis was like an uncle to her. She spoke with CNN just a few hours ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: John Lewis was one of the few people who really remained consistent and true to my files non-violent philosophy and methodology. He was a true non-violent warrior, through and through, and a very pure heart. They're very few pure hearted people in this world, and he was a pure hearted man. You know, his only motive was to stand up for what was right, to speak for those who could not speak for themselves. It was never about him. It was always about the struggle, the cause, and justice, and freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: We also spoke with Former Ambassador to the U.N. and Former Mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW YOUNG, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. AND MAYOR OF ATLANTA: I was just sitting here thinking there's a song that we used to sing: In that (INAUDIBLE) getting up morning, very well, very well. In that (INAUDIBLE) getting up morning, very well. And I think that this is a great getting up morning for John Lewis. And John started his trek towards freedom as a little boy, and wrote

to Martin Luther King when he was about 14. He was from Troy, Alabama, and Martin sent him a bus ticket to come up, to go to church in (INAUDIBLE), and he got started.

And so, he was probably about 15 when that happened, and he has remained steadily on the case for justice, freedom, and peace, and non-violent, all achieved non-violently. Since the 50s, and I said that probably nobody has spent 80 years and more deeply involved throughout those ideas than John Lewis. He brought so much to the political arena that there must be three-fourths of the districts in Congress where a black minority and a minority of goodwill, a moral.

A minority usually can make the difference between winning and losing. And so, every member of congress always wanted to have John come to their district. And because he campaigned for everybody over 34 years, everybody in the Congress was embedded to him. John was not a -- he didn't convince you by his arguments and he convinced you by his life.

He believed what we talked about and he lived every day of his life, and he didn't have a violent streak in his body. And he was always forgiving, always loving, always understanding, and he never made you feel guilty, but he made you feel responsible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: A pivotal moment for John Lewis in his long civil rights career was the election of the first black president. And President Obama, who awarded Congressman Lewis the Medal of Freedom in 2011 wrote this: "Not many of us get to live to see our own legacy play out in such a meaningful, remarkable way. John Lewis did, and thanks to him, we now all have our marching orders."

BLACKWELL: We've heard from President Obama, President Clinton as well still waiting on President Trump in the White House. Congressman Hank Johnson tweeted, "John Lewis was a giant of a man, never angry or puffed up with self-importance. He was a humble servant who loves humanity and we loved him back. Thank you, John Lewis for your contribution, the cause of love and peace. I will follow your example."

[07:10:11]

PHILLIP: His leadership is being felt all around the world. Ireland's embassy tweeted: "John Lewis, his impact extended far beyond America's shores. His example inspired civil rights activists in Northern Ireland where six years ago, he joined another remarkable John, crossing the Peace Bridge in Derry. His legacy on our island is a great one. He will be sorely missed."

Now, CNN National Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us now. She's covered John Lewis and his legacy for many, many years. Suzanne, even recently you were able to speak with him over on Capitol Hill. Tell us about that.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Abby, first of all, I mean, I just have to personally acknowledge the tremendous loss of Congressman John Lewis. I mean, this is somebody who you grow up knowing about, learning about. My parents grew up in the segregated south and endured many of the indignities of the colored only a water fountains and hotels and lunch counters, and everybody had a role to play in the civil rights movement.

But there are very few people special people who put their bodies behind their beliefs and sacrifice it time and time again, and that was John Lewis. That is the person as a young girl, I grew up knowing about, and learning about through my own family, my own experiences. And so, you can imagine he was just a rock star really kind of starstruck when I got to Congress and had an opportunity to cover him.

I mean, he really was, he was a giant, but he was also very humbled, very accessible, and we just saw him just within the last month or so he went to the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C., standing side by side with the mayor there. He had incredible sense of pride in the Black Lives Matter movement.

I mean, it was not hard to see the parallel with his own leadership at a Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee, and just how proud he was of the peaceful protests that had unfolded after the killing of George Floyd in Atlanta, and just about everything that has come to fruition has his fingerprints on it.

I mean, he was, years ago talking about the removal of confederate statues in, at the Capitol saying that we have to get our own house in order, it is time to cleanse our own house. He spoke out against the immigration policies of President Trump and the administration, giving a rousing speech. This was in 2018.

And I had a chance because he was accessible to catch up with him on my cellphone and actually do a little quick interview afterwards to really press him on what is happening, what was happening at the time, which was the demonization of these immigrants. I want you to just take a quick listen to just some of that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Congressman, if you could just respond to the President Trump's tweet, he's accusing yourself and other Democrats. He says, in his words of wanting migrants to "infest our country," can you please respond to the sentiment into the language that he's using?

LEWIS: Well, it's shameful, racist. It's not in keeping with the dreams and the hope of the American people.

MALVEAUX: Is it dangerous?

LEWIS: It is really dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You can see that flash of emotion. I mean, just right underneath the surface, he really was the Conscience of Congress. And no matter what it was that you were covering, he had a role in it, whether it was the, the March on Washington, the Women's March on Washington or whether or not it was that sit in that he did for 25 hours inside the Capitol. They're calling for some sort of gun control legislation.

He was extremely relevant and he didn't even have to be because his history was so great and so big and grandiose, but every single day, he gave us his best. It just has such a tremendous loss, Abby and Victor, but clearly, someone who really moved us forward in a way and who we are indebted to in so many ways.

BLACKWELL: You know, Suzanne, you lived in Atlanta, I've only been here for eight years now. But it's hard to over overstate how much part of the fabric of this city, John Lewis was; someone you just always imagined would be here, right?

MALVEAUX: And all the people who we talked to who we know in Atlanta when -- I mean, Andy Young through the fact that they had a relationship there and that we would be able to speak to him. I mean, they were just joined at the hips or another Clayton, who was another powerful civil rights figure in Atlanta.

I mean, just the community itself, within that city was just so incredibly powerful. And so, it is such a tremendous loss from, from that vantage point as well. I mean, these are the kinds of folks who we had personal relationships and connections with and also grew up knowing about, learning about because they impacted our lives in such a meaningful, deep way.

[07:15:13]

BLACKWELL: And there's a new generation learning about him with this new graphic novel, the comic book, "March and Run," featuring the late congressman. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Suzanne, thank you so much.

PHILLIP: Thanks, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Thank you, Victor. Thank you, Abby.

BLACKWELL: Congressman Lewis is one of three civil rights pioneers that we've lost, over just a little more than 100 days. Reverend C.T. Vivian passed away yesterday as well. He was 95 and died of natural causes in Atlanta. He was part of the Freedom Riders. He was one of the early ones.

At age 25, he helped lead the, the 65 march for voting rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. He and Lewis and other marchers were attacked there. The Reverend Joseph Lowery remembered as the Dean of the Civil Rights Movement, working hand in hand with Dr. King, Jesse Jackson as well in the movement's formative years, he died in March at 98.

PHILLIP: Our look back at the life and legacy of John Lewis continues throughout the morning. In the next hour, we will speak with the Reverend Raphael Warnock, John Lewis' Pastor who says he was with Lewis in his final moments. BLACKWELL: First, though a reminder of the lesson John Lewis is still teaching today. He shared this message with a generation of young leaders when CNN cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Lewis in 2018.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS: Just give it all you get and not get weary, be hopeful, be optimistic, and take the long hard look. We have some difficulty, they will have some difficulty, they will have some setbacks, but you cannot give up, you cannot give in. We will make it, they will lead us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:21:16]

BLACKWELL: 21 minutes after the hour now. New projection from the CDC. It says, the number of Americans killed by the coronavirus could exceed 157,000 three weeks from now.

PHILLIP: It's an unthinkable number. And just yesterday, more than 71,000 cases were recorded in the United States alone. 908 Americans died on Friday. Cases are spiking all across the country. And now, states like Texas and Arizona are bringing in refrigerated trucks as morgues fill up.

BLACKWELL: There's a county in Texas where the public health director says at least 85 infants have tested positive for the virus, and there is this ongoing fight over masks. So, yesterday, Dr. Anthony Fauci urged local leaders to be as forceful as possible to get people to wear them.

PHILLIP: And it isn't just the debate over masks. That's a flashpoint. Now, there's also conflicting information from health experts and the White House about schools. It has states grappling with what to do with students this fall.

BLACKWELL: On Friday we learned about this document prepared for the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommending that 18 states rolled back reopening. Let's start there with Saju Mathew, Dr. Saju Mathew, I should include that, he's a Primary Care Physician and Public Health Specialist. Doctor, good morning to you.

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN AND PUBLIC HEALTH SPECIALIST: Good morning, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So, let's start here with this is, from the Center for Public Integrity they posted this unpublished report compiled for the Coronavirus Task Force. Let's put up the map; identifies 18 states as being in the red zone which means new cases last week above 100 per 100,000 population and above 10 percent positivity test results.

Recommendations are to encourage mask wearing, close gyms and bars, limit gatherings. Will that put these states on the right path, or should there be more? MATHEW: Yes. Good morning, Victor. Just when you thought that the red on these maps cannot get any redder. We have -- we now have now a different color of what dark red means to indicate severity. I think that we need to do a lot more Victor as I've mentioned so many times on air. We are deep in a crisis mode now with the with the virus surging.

So, I still feel like even in my state in Georgia, we need to actually shut down the bars, we need to shut down all indoor dining and really pulled back to phase one. It's not enough to just pause. So, I think that that's a start Victor, but there's still a lot of other metrics that we need to look at, and we need to really be aggressive on all fronts to really kill this virus and really decrease the transmission.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about testing. Admiral Gerard, who is leading up the testing effort, he says that the U.S. has gone from tens of thousands of tests per day in March to an average of 700,000 per day now. I want to put up a calendar that shows personally how long I waited for my COVID test results. I got the test on July 2nd, and I didn't get the result until the 17th, 15 days to get my test results. What's the value of these tests if it takes two weeks to get the results back?

MATHEW: So, Victor, it's a shame but you have to go through that and guess what, that's really exactly what all my patients are going through. Our Mayor had to wait to get results back. So, ultimately, what's happening is these labs are getting overwhelmed. So many people realizes that the cases are surging in Georgia, so they're rushing to anywhere to get a test.

Now, in terms of the significance of a test, if it doesn't come back in less than five days, if it takes more than three days, then we have missed that window of opportunity for contact tracing. Remember, contact tracing is not only isolating the person who was sick, but contacting everybody that that person has come in contact with.

One person can infect 59,000 people in a few weeks' time. So, you're walking around potentially being infected and spreading the virus. So, that's why it is really key to get that test really under three days.

BLACKWELL: One person can infect 59,000 out?

MATHEW: In a matter of weeks, one person can infect that many people and the reason is, one person can infect three people. And if you can do the math, those three people will infect another three people, and it just exponentially rises. And that's really why I tell all my patients that we all need to just act like we're infected.

It doesn't matter if your test is positive or negative when the community transmission is so high, the best way to protect everybody and yourself are the three Ws that I tweeted about yesterday, which is: wash your hands, watch your distance, and basically always wear a mask. I mean, that's really what's going to help us cut down on, on this incredible rate of transmission.

BLACKWELL: What are the implications of this new study out of the U.K.? It has not been peer reviewed, but the study that shows that coronavirus antibodies start to decline after a couple of weeks to a couple of months.

[07:26:29]

MATHEW: Yes, you know, Victor, we don't need one more bad news when it comes to COVID-19. But, I still think there's some silver lining in that news. What they're saying is you get exposed, you get infected, you may develop antibodies and 30 days later, studies are showing that those antibodies go down.

Now, if that were truly the case, Victor, we should really see a resurgence in the number of people that were infected, that get infected again, and we're not really seeing that. There are also some studies that are showing that it's not just antibodies that protect you, but also these T-cells, which are memory cells that also help protect you against the second infection. So, I'm still hopeful that that doesn't mean that you can get infected a second time around.

BLACKWELL: Yes, me too. Dr. Saju Mathew, thanks so much for being with us this Saturday.

MATHEW: Thank you, Victor.

PHILLIP: And coming up next, President Trump's niece who just sold a million copies of her book is criticizing the President and his family. She's telling CNN that her uncle is a deeply damaged man, and he won't get better.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:31:44]

PHILLIP: President Trump is attacking his niece, Mary Trump, over her tell-all book that dives into the president's upbringing and family life. Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created The World's Most Dangerous Man, sold nearly a million copies on its first day of release.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's number one on Amazon. And Mary Trump was on with Chris Cuomo last night and she is dismissing the criticism that she wrote this book out of revenge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY TRUMP, NIECE OF PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: This is not a vendetta. This is not revenge. This is not a settling of scores. If Donald had continued to be a private citizen, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

You've seen what's been going on with COVID-19, you've seen what's been going on with racial strife in this country. The problems are getting exacerbated every day. We are in serious trouble here and a large part of that is because Donald is incapable of leading and he's being enabled by people who apparently are only interested in using him towards their own ends, and I'm afraid that those ends are not the best interests of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: CNN's national correspondent Kristen Holmes, joins us now from the White House. Kristen, the president went after his niece on Twitter last night. He's comparing her to his former national security adviser John Bolton, who also recently published a very critical book about the president. There is no one it seems who sells more books than President Trump, Kristen.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is right, Abby. Two of the nearly dozen people who have written a book about Donald Trump, criticizing him during his tenure in office -- three years.

So, this response on Twitter comes after the book release but also after we started seeing these interviews with Mary Trump. And she had stunning revelation after stunning revelation, including claims, at one point, that she had heard President Trump use racial slurs, including the n-word, and heard him make anti-Semitic remarks.

So, we pull up the tweet for you here. First, he talks about Bolton, so, we'll just skip that part, but then he says, "Next up is Mary Trump, a seldom-seen niece who knows little about me, says untruthful things about my wonderful parents who couldn't stand her and me and violated her NDA. She also broke the law by giving out my tax returns. She's a mess. Many books have been written about me, some good, some bad, both happily and sadly, there will be more to come."

And Abby, I think we can agree he is right about that, there certainly will be more to come. But we did see Mary Trump respond to this in that interview with Chris Cuomo. Saying, she didn't break her NDA. And we want to make clear here that this actually went to court already.

Her family had tried to stop the publication of this book because of this NDA and her lawyers arguing that it violated the First Amendment and also arguing that the NDA was no longer valid because it was all around the settlement of her grandfather's estate. They won that case. So, that should be clear here.

Now, on the part of him calling her a mess, he -- she said, she didn't really care that this was something that he uses predominantly as an insult to women and that she was proud to stand with some of the other women who he had called a mess.

[07:35:08]

BLACKWELL: Hey, Kristen, before we go, have we heard anything from the president or from the White House about the passing of Congressman Lewis?

HOLMES: Nope. And we are here, and we will keep you posted. We have seen multiple retweets from President Trump last night about everything, but the passing of John Lewis, we've obviously heard as you guys have been covering extensively for the last hour and a half from several other lawmakers, Republicans, and Democrats, former presidents, as well, but still, nothing from President Trump and nothing from the White House.

BLACKWELL: All right, Kristen Holmes for us there. Thanks so much.

So, to wear the mask or not to wear the mask? There's new information if you think wearing a mask is only to protect others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:24]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC BENIOFF, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SALESFORCE: At some point, the government have to step in and say yes, you have to wear a mask and if you're not wearing a mask, you're going to get fined.

Just like if you don't wear a seat belt, you get a fine. There's no difference that this is something to protect yourself and all of society. If you don't want to wear a mask, just stay home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIP: That was Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff, comparing the debate over mask mandates to the debate over seat belt laws.

BLACKWELL: And it's easy to forget that seat belts and the laws enforcing their use were once very controversial. Well, now, according to the Department of Transportation, seat belts save roughly 15,000 lives per year.

BLACKWELL: Now, it's difficult to say just how many lives masks could save this year. But the director of the CDC said this week that widespread mask-wearing could bring the coronavirus outbreak under control in a matter of weeks.

PHILLIP: So, why are masks still controversial? Let's go to Jacqueline Howard, for a breakdown of what we know of the science behind it.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Victor and Abby, the evidence is pretty clear, wearing a mask can help reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus and even getting sick.

Here is one study from the medical journal The Lancet, some evidence in it suggests that the chance of transmission when not wearing a mask or respirator is 17.4 percent. When wearing a mask, that chance may fall to three percent.

Now, another study in the journal Physics of Fluids, finds that the design and materials of face masks can control respiratory droplets that could contain viruses. When not wearing a mask, respiratory droplets from a cough can travel eight feet. With just a bandana, those droplets can travel 3.6 feet. But with the commercial mask, eight inches. A stitched mask that's two layers, 2.5 inches.

Masks work by blocking the respiratory droplets that the wearer might spread just from talking or breathing or coughing or sneezing. And health officials also say that wearing a mask can help protect the wearer too.

Here is Dr. Anthony Fauci and others on the White House task force.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: There's no doubt that wearing masks protects you and gets you to be protected.

ADM. BRETT GIROIR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: We need to support mask-wearing. When I'm not in uniform, I wear them, they're white, they work very effective, and I think they're a great investment for the American people.

JEROME ADAMS, SURGEON GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: It is not an inconvenience, it is not a suppression of your freedom.

FAUCI: When you're outside and not have the capability of maintaining distance, you should wear a mask at all times.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD: The message is clear from the experts, wear a mask. Now, researchers also noted that none of the masks they tested were 100 effective in blocking droplets so that just emphasizes the importance of social distancing and really following other guidelines combined with wearing a mask. Victor, Abby?

BLACKWELL: Jacqueline, thank you. One more thing that you brought up there that I want to talk about, actually, you can have the conversation, Abby, with Dr. Monica Gandy, about the protection for the wearer.

PHILLIP: Yes.

BLACKWELL: So, when you wear the mask, it's not just to protect the other person, it can protect you. She's got the research out of San Francisco. That conversation coming up at 8:00.

PHILLIP: And we'll have a lot more on that issue. But take a look at this. Unidentified masked men in camouflage, snatching protesters on the streets of Portland, Oregon. Coming up, we're going to speak to the former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, about what is going on in Portland, and is it legal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: "FOOD AS FUEL" is brought to you by noom. Noom is based in psychology for lasting health and weight loss results.

[07:45:28]

BLACKWELL: And there's a lot going on. Plenty of stressors around us all day. But we also know that what we eat can also affect our stress levels. CNN's Jacqueline Howard is back now with this week's "FOOD AS FUEL" HOWARD: When you're feeling frazzled, you might crave something sweet. But foods high in sugar could stress your body even more by raising your blood glucose levels. So, instead of a candy bar, try snacking on cashews or roasted almonds.

Cashews are rich in zinc, which is linked to lowered anxiety. And almonds are a source of b-vitamins, which play a role in maintaining your mood.

If stress leaves you feeling tired, pass on coffee, soda, and energy drinks. Caffeine can actually increase levels of the stress hormone cortisol. So, consider a calming caffeine-free herbal tea, like chamomile, passionflower, or mint.

One study found tea could help lower cortisol levels, but your best defense against stress eating may not be at mealtime, but bedtime. Some studies suggest getting enough sleep makes you less likely to make unhealthy food choices when you're stressed out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIP: Another night of violent protests in Portland, Oregon. For 50 days, protesters have clashed with federal state and local authorities in that city.

BLACKWELL: And now, there's this video that's getting a lot of attention of some men in camos here with masks, no name badges, arresting protesters. Oregon's attorney general has now filed a lawsuit against a few federal agencies that she says were involved. Oregon's governor, Portland's mayor, Senator Jeff Merkley, they've condemned these arrests.

Let's bring in now Andrew McCabe, former deputy director of the FBI and CNN senior law enforcement analyst.

Andrew, good morning to you. First let's start here based on what we know, who is being arrested, and who is doing the arresting? Is this legal?

[07:50:15]

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, that's a great question, Victor. And so, based on what we know, or at least, what I know from the reporting I've seen and from that video that you referenced, and statements made by DHS officials yesterday.

I believe those individuals who grab a few protesters and throw or, at least, one protester, and put them in the back of an unmarked van are actually Customs and Border Protection agents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Use your words, what are you doing?

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCCABE: So, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security. It's incredibly concerning to me as a law enforcement official to see that sort of activity. I know from my years as a federal agent that federal agents are authorized to make arrests only when there's been a determination of probable cause that a federal crime has been committed.

So, that's not just you're driving around in your unmarked van and you see somebody who you think looks suspicious. Probable cause is a determination made by a grand jury or a federal judge. You go out to make an arrest when you have a lawful arrest warrant and there's, of course, procedures to do that safely.

What we see in that video isn't consistent with anything that I have seen or experienced as an agent working in this country.

PHILLIP: Yes, and I think a lot of people would be surprised to find that Customs and Border Protection can arrest Americans on American soil in an American city. The President Trump has made no -- you know, mistake about it. He wants the federal government to be involved in these matters that would normally be handled by state and local police.

Do you see evidence that the president is kind of using the force of the federal government -- the Justice Department to bear down on protesters? And is there any justification in your mind for that kind of intervention on the federal government's part?

MCCABE: Well, there's no question that they are. So, they've deployed federal agents to numerous cities around the country. Portland is probably the most -- you know, active example with the protest activity that's been going on there for 50 days.

So, they -- the federal government and president -- under President Trump's direction have taken a very, very strong and engaged hand-in sending federal agents into work what are typically crowd control and riot control issues handled by local police.

The legality of that, I think, is dubious. The wisdom of it is also highly questionable. Particularly in places like the pacific northwest, cities like Portland that have a long history on both the right and left-leaning political groups opposing any sort of federal engagement.

So, deploying federal agents into Portland is almost guaranteed to provoke a very hostile and volatile reaction. You're taking what's already a sensitive volatile situation and running a high degree of risk that you're going to make it a lot worse.

BLACKWELL: I wonder what you think about the language. I've got this statement from the Acting Secretary Chad Wolf of DHS, in which he said that a federal courthouse as a symbol of justice to attack it, is to attack America.

And then he's got this list of what he says violent anarchist, graffitied the BPA building, violent anarchist destroyed fencing. Property damage is not violence let's say that, but it sounds a lot like what we heard from Defense Secretary Mark Esper about dominating the battlespace. What do you make of the language we're hearing from these department heads?

MCCABE: Well, that's the acting secretary's comments might ring well in a political speech, but that is not the administration of law enforcement as I know it or as Americans should be looking for in this country.

It's emotionally charged, it's completely disconnected from the legal ramifications of sending agents into these situations, and apparently authorizing them to conduct investigative activity like surveillance, and arrests of people for whom there has been no finding of probable cause that they've actually committed a federal crime.

Look, the activity that you see in those videos by the protesters, whether you agree with them or disagree with them, whether you think they're being unruly or, you know, ugly language or whatever that might be, until it gets to the point of violence and destruction of property, it is -- it is protected speech.

It's protected by the First Amendment and that's what federal agents should be out there protecting people's right to stand up and talk about how they feel about their government.

PHILLIP: Yes, I think one of the things that's so chilling about this is the fact that they were unidentified, did not want to identify themselves in the moment. Andrew McCabe, thank you for joining us this morning.

[07:55:04]

MCCABE: Sure, thanks.

BLACKWELL: Take a look at this. This is the front page of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. John Lewis, Georgia civil rights icon, contemporary of Martin Luther King, Jr., politician and humanitarian dies at 80. He served 17 terms in Congress.

PHILLIP: In the next hour, we will be joined by Martin Luther King III to share his memories of the congressman. We'll be right back.

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